


Warm Chocolate Milk

by RavenLilyRose



Series: Separate, Not Apart [1]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, F/M, Gen, Nightmares, POV Nyota Uhura, POV Outsider, Post-Star Trek (2009)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25205449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenLilyRose/pseuds/RavenLilyRose
Summary: "You should be sleeping, James."He sounded like he was rebuking the Captain, but also was conveying slight worry."Couldn't sleep," Kirk shrugged it off while plopping down on the couch next to Spock in a way that was not consistent with how they had been taught to respect Vulcans' personal space.--In which Nyota Uhura witnesses interactions that make absolutely no sense to her.
Relationships: James T. Kirk & Spock, Spock/Nyota Uhura
Series: Separate, Not Apart [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826005
Comments: 17
Kudos: 220





	Warm Chocolate Milk

Nyota had never been one much inclined to romantic relationships. Sure, she had gone on a few dates here and there in high school, but studying for school or for her own projects had always come first.

That was not, in and of itself, an issue, rather the opposite, in fact, but it did create a few obstacles in her relationship with Spock, most notably the fact that she had no idea how this was all supposed to be working.

Their relationship was further complicated by the fact that Spock had recently witnessed the genocide of his people. He had been, true to his upbringing and culture, rather withdrawn, but this had taken it to a new extreme.

Luckily, being on the same ship, they were able to spend some time together. It was slightly awkward, and more than a little stunted, but they did manage to have some conversations that would be classified under meaningful or personal.

Today, or rather tonight by ship's time, they were in one of the senior officer's lounges. It was a small room, with a few couches and a small kitchenette area with some drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks (mostly muffins and fruits). They were not talking about anything deep, but rather general musings on any number of things while working on paperwork. 

In general, she didn't want to force Spock to become anything that he wasn't or didn't want to be, though there were moments when she wished that he would give her just a little more. She always hated herself after these moments, but she took comfort in the fact that she knew she would never act on them. 

This, though, was one thing that had changed since the beginning of their relationship that Nyota loved. Only a year previous, Spock would not have understood why it was important to her and to their relationship for them to talk about things that were not of vital importance to the current situation. Now, though, he was willing to talk to her about such things as childhood anecdotes, small stories about what was going on at home or on the ship, talking about what they feared or loved. He didn't express overly much, but was willing to listen to her and add things of his own with relative frequency.

Once he had accepted it, he had fallen into it easily, far more easily than she would have expected. He wasn't uncomfortable with it, it seemed, he just hadn't realized that it was something that she and their relationship needed.

It was very early morning and they had been there a few hours already when Kirk came sauntering in, nearly 0400. He was wearing an old t-shirt and grey sweats, his hair damp and his eyes soft. He had clearly just woken up and briefly showered before coming here.

"Spock, Spock, Spock," he called, focusing in on the Vulcan and nearly ignoring her.

She expected Spock to be confused or disapproving of the address, but instead he twisted around to face Kirk and, in a much more even voice, but not lacking in fondness, replied.

"James, James, James."

Nyota was shocked. It was a very unVulcan and unSpock behavior, one she had never seen him even approximate for someone else's benefit. That he was speaking in such a way, using their Captain's given name so comfortably and familiarly, was... not something she could fully process.

"You should be sleeping, James."

He sounded like he was rebuking the Captain, but also was conveying slight worry.

"Couldn't sleep," Kirk shrugged it off while plopping down on the couch next to Spock in a way that was not consistent with how they had been taught to respect Vulcans' personal space. She was about to call him out on it when Spock simply lifted his right arm to allow Kirk to more easily situate himself against Spock's side.

The blond-haired Captain didn't waste any time, and quickly curled into the Vulcan's side, his ear directly over where a Vulcan's heart is situated.

What really struck her about the whole exchange, was that none of it seemed to be particularly conscious. Both obviously knew what they were doing, but neither of their actions seemed to require overly much thought. It spoke of a familiarity between them that they had not had anywhere near enough time to develop by her reckoning.

With Kirk situated against his side, Spock settled his hand on the Captain's side, and turned his attention back to her.

At first, she was distracted, her eyes and attention flickering sometimes to Kirk, but as Spock continued to act completely normal, she too started to relax. As they spoke, she noticed that a tension she had been unaware of when he entered the room seemed to be seeping out of the Captain. He was relaxing, and it seemed that Spock's presence was the catalyst.

After a while, she moved to get herself a drink and a snack. The two started to speak, quietly, but not so quietly that she couldn't hear. She felt somewhat like she was intruding or eavesdropping, but she was so clearly there and within hearing range that they had obviously chosen to speak despite her presence, so she continued about her business, keeping one ear on them.

"James," Spock said gently, "James," with a little more force when he didn't respond.

"Yeah?" The Captain's voice was soft and unassuming, almost like a child's.

"You are suffering from the nightmares again." It wasn't a question. Somehow, without being told and without any outward sign that Nyota could make out, Spock just knew that Kirk was suffering from nightmares.

"Never woulda guessed," Kirk grumbled into Spock's side.

Spock's right hand sought out the pulse point on the inside of Kirk's left wrist, fingers curling into it, presumably to feel his pulse. As she moved back, having secured her drink and food, she saw Kirk's fingers reciprocating, surprisingly taking into account the differences in human and Vulcan physiologies and finding exactly where a Vulcan's pulse point was.

"Return to bed, James. I will move you to Beta shift tomorrow; you had expressed an interest in working with the beta and gamma crews and you require the sleep. I will bring you warm chocolate milk before I retire."

"I'm not a child," Kirk huffed, though she could see that he was not actually offended.

"Does that mean you do not want the warm chocolate milk?" Spock inquired, his tone hinting at teasing.

"Nooo," he drew out the word, sounding mock annoyed, "you know me way to well, Spock, it's not fair."

"I believe the phrase is 'Life isn't fair,' James, but you know me equally well, therefore making it, as you would say, 'fair.'"

"You're also way to smart," he huffed again, rolling off the couch and then struggling to his feet. "Fine, we'll do this your way. But I do want that chocolate milk."

Spock gave him a look that she could not decipher, but the Captain, based on his expression could, and then reached out with two fingers to tap Kirk's temple. In response, Kirk leaned in and kissed his cheek. Nyota knew that she was gaping, but she couldn't get herself under control. She had never, and she meant _never_ , seen Spock, or any other Vulcan for that matter, allow anywhere near that display of physical affection before.

"Love you, Spock," Kirk said, a teasing gleam in his eye.

"Bed, James," Spock responded, with a pointed look at the door.

"Yeah, yeah, not a kid anymore, remember," was Kirk's response as he finally left the room.

"What was _that_!" was what Nyota finally managed to say after significant effort to pull herself together.

"That was James Kirk," Spock said as if it explained everything, tilting his head in confusion.

"Yes, I know that, but what was _that_." Because it _didn't_ explain everything.

"We have known each other since we were very young, and James has never had much concept of normal." 

And that... that did make a certain amount of sense, in the way that it made absolutely no sense at all.

**Author's Note:**

> I think some of Spock and Jim's behavior at the end needs to be explained, since some of it I made up. So, here goes:
> 
> Because of Vulcans being Vulcans, there is very little in the way of how they express affection that is canonical, especially outside of romantic relationships. Now, knowing that they weren't always so in control, and knowing that parents will still care for their children, even in such a society, you can assume that such gestures _do_ exist. So I made some up.
> 
> What Spock does to Jim, i.e. touching his temple with his fore- and middle-fingers, is one such gesture. This one is usually used by parents to their children or older siblings to their younger siblings. So here it's the equivalent of an adult calling their adult younger brother their _baby_ brother.
> 
> Basically, look at it all through the lens of Spock being the older sibling and Jim the younger sibling, and you've pretty much understood it.
> 
> Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.
> 
> Make good life choices, be kind people, I love you all!


End file.
